Policy application method for machine type communication, and policy and charging enforcement function

Abstract

A policy application method for Machine Type Communication (MTC) and a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) are provided by the disclosure. The method comprises that in a course in which an MTC device attached to a PCEF establishes an Internet Protocol-Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session, the PCEF locally obtains a group policy corresponding to a device group to which the MTC device belongs (S302); the group policy is applied in the IP-CAN session (S304). The technical solution of the disclosure reduces the time required by applying the MTC policy by the PCEF, saves network resources, and increases utilization of the network resources.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The disclosure relates to the communication field and more particularly to a policy application method for Machine Type Communication (MTC), and a Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]A 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) wireless core network comprises a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network, an Evolved Packet System (EPS) network, and a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS).[0003]FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of an emergency call performed by a piece of MTC User Equipment (UE) to access an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) through System Architecture Evolution (SAE) and a UMTS. In FIG. 1, the solid lines represent signalings, and the dashed lines represent IP channels of the subscriber. When the access is performed through the UMTS, the UE can be also called a Mobile Station (MS).[0004]As shown in FIG. 1, main network elements involved when the MTC UE accesses an MTC ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0030]Through the disclosure, a PCEF locally stores a group policy of a device group attached to the PCEF; when an MTC device in a certain device group establishes an IP-CAN session, the PCEF locally obtains the group policy corresponding to the device group to which the device belongs; and the group policy is applied to corresponding IP-CAN session. The problem that waste of network resources is caused because the PCEF needs to apply for a policy applied to an IP-CAN session from a PCRF in a course in which each MTC device establishes the IP-CAN session in the prior art is solved, thus reducing the application time of the MTC policy, saving the network resources and increasing utilization of the network resources.

Problems solved by technology

The inventors found that daring practical application, there are a large number of MTC devices which need to be online for a long time; if the PCRF needs to apply for a policy applied to an IP-CAN session during an establishment process of the IP-CAN session of each MTC device, a lot of network resources will be occupied to reduce the utilization of the network resources, thus resulting in waste of the network resources.

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